Learning To Cope
by ultraharrypotter
Summary: Estelle is a driven and fun loving young woman. See what happens when she runs into an old friend. More of a real summary inside! GeorgexOtherCharacter Many Genres: Angst, HurtComfort, Friendship, Romance DH Spoilers


**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters at all, although i wish i did :) The plot, Estelle, Keelah and any other made up characters are mine :D**

_((Estelle is a driven and fun loving young woman. At least, she was. She is constantly reminding of her dead parents and how they died, which was really hard on her. That is, until she ran into George, a great guy she met back in her 7th year of school at St. Mungos' after she had started her internship. Although he has changed drastically, (after the war and stuff, due to Fred dying) they reform their friendship which helps both of them learn to cope and live life a little. (Possibly Eventual Romance between them.)) _**  
**

Estelle stumbled through her doorway tiredly, sighing. It had been one of the busiest nights at the Leaky Cauldron of her life, and the worst night to have a horrible migraine. Unfortunately, she had been picked to wait on the Grendor family reunion. Although the tip money was fairly generous, she wasn't in the mood to deal with them, the men being large, obnoxious bearded beasts, swinging their firewhiskey mugs in the air and singing their Irish national anthem. And the women, just as worse, wouldn't stop chattering about, their high pitched voices drilling through Estelle's head, making her squint in pain as she refilled their flutes with elderflower wine.

Kicking off her boots, she went to take off her coat and scarf but knocked down a picture frame, which woke up her cat Keelah, who apparently was in the middle of a deep dream, chasing a mouse probably. Hanging up her things, she bent down to pick up the frame, and noticed the glass had broken. Standing up and grabbing her wand out of her coat pocket, she made a swift movement with her wand and said "reparo" which fixed the glass immediately. Instead of putting it back, Estelle walked over to the couch where Keelah was sleeping and sat down. She rubbed her free hand over her forehead, trying to massage the pain away, however it only made the pressure behind her eyes worse. Looking back to the picture in the frame, she traced her finger delicately across the cheeks of her mother and father, who looked so happy, holding a baby Estelle. Feeling the tears coming on, she turned the frame over in her lap, and looked to Keelah. The ginger cat turned to look into Estelle's eyes, then yawned and stretched lazily, turning over onto her back and pawing the air. Estelle smiled, then got up to put the frame back, then walked into her warm kitchen.

The kitchen. This was one of her favorite places, where she felt most at home. Her mother had loved to cook, as with her grandmother. That's where Estelle thought she had gotten most of her cooking ability. One of her earliest and favorite memories had been making cookies and cakes, the muggle way, with both her grandmother and mother. She remembered them laughing together, throwing the flour at each other, then eating all of the cookies and not saving any for her grandfather. Things back then were so much easier... not as complicated. Estelle sighed faintly as she made a pot of tea, and started to gather her herbal healing ingredients. If anything, she was at least going to make her head ache go away. She would've rather used her wand, although she really didn't know any healing spells, but she needed to practice her healing abilities. After making her mixture, she boiled it in a separate kettle next to the tea. While she waited for the mixture to finish boiling, she walked to her bedroom to change. Her bedroom, if anything, was definitely neat. Everything had to have a place, and if it didn't, well, it wasn't there. Her walls were a chocolate brown, her bedding and leather chair a deep crimson. She had one single painting on her wall, a scenic view of Bordeaux, France, where she was from, and a single crimson vase on her dresser, holding a single white trumpet lily. Estelle sighed as she walked over to her dresser and pulled out a large, white men's button down shirt that she slept in, and her white, soft cashmere socks. After slipping into her shirt and socks, she lit a couple candles, then went back to the kitchen to check on her tea and herbal mixture.

The first thing Estelle noticed was Keelah's ginger fur clashing against her all white kitchen, which made her smile for some reason. She picked her up and hugged her, feeling her soft purrs vibrate against her body. Hearing the kettle's whistle, she put Keelah down and made her tea first, then finished her mixture. It was her first time actually making the headache/pain relieving mixture, and it was actually one of the easiest ones out there. She added the final ingredients and mixed them up in a cup. Looking over at Keelah, she braced herself. "Well, here goes nothing. If I can't make this, well... then i guess im doomed." she said, laughing softly. Taking a large gulp, she felt her stomach turn and almost about spilled the contents from her mouth. When she swallowed, she felt the mixture burn down her throat. She coughed loudly, causing Keelah to jump off the counter in fright, then grasped the counter tightly as she gasped. "Merlin's knickers, that was nasty." Taking one look at the mixture with disgust, she threw it away, and opened one of her cupboards searching for a large brick of chocolate. After finding it, she took it to her couch and sat down, putting her feet up next to her and began to eat. She took a deep breath and looked around her living room, which was just as neat and clean as her bedroom. As she sat there, her eyes wandered to the picture frame of her parents. It had been 4 years since the war, when her parents were killed, exactly to this day. They wouldn't want her to be sitting her sulking around, they would want her to go out, and be a normal 23 year old. But after Matthew had broken up with her a month earlier, she'd been in a slump. Sighing, she wondered if there was more to her life. She felt so empty.

George had woken with a start, thinking he was late to open up the shop. Glancing over to his clock, he sighed with relief when it said 5:30. He normally opened the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes shop around 8:00 in the morning. Not bothering to fall back asleep, he sat up in his bed and sighed. Another busy day of work, only to come home to an empty apartment, then bed. His life had seen more excitement, but lately, he'd been having quite a hard since... everything. He'd thought after the first year of Fred being dead, he was doing okay. Ron, Percy, Ginny and even occaisionally Hermione had offered to help him out with the shop. Sales had been doing great, if not better. He even had started dating, finding a steady girlfriend. But now, four years later, he had broken up with Linsey, and now was mostly running the shop by himself. At least sales were still high.

Getting up from his bed, George tore the covers off of him, only to hear a muffled crash. Turning to his bed stand, he noticed a picture frame had fallen. After picking it up, he observed it before putting it back on the stand. It had been taken of him and Fred during their seventh year at Hogwarts, as they were trying to hide their explosives they had planned to use against Umbridge. George had posed with a thumbs up sign, while Fred had one arm around his shoulders and the other clutching a firework. George smiled to himself, remembering the laughs they'd had as he put the picture frame back, making sure it was fully visible in his messy room, and went off to the bathroom to get ready for a long day at work.

As George unlocked the doors to his shop, he stepped in and took a deep breath, admiring his store. As he walked to his back office, briefcase in hand, he'd remembered that he had finished all of his paperwork the night before, which really left nothing for him to do for a whole hour before opening. He went around the store, making sure everything was in order, and that it looked clean and presentable, which it did. This left him nothing to do at _all _now. He went to the front checkout counter, and just stood there, admiring what he and Fred had started, and what he'd accomplished in the years after he had died. He had made sure to add a small section of the store especially devoted to Fred, which explained George's favorite memories of his brother, some of Fred's favorite things in life, his life at Hogwarts and how he helped overcome Voldemort and his army.

Before George knew it, it was already 8:00. No sooner did he flip his 'closed' sign and turn his back, did someone come in. It was a small boy, who looked quite anxious. "Hello, how may i help you?" George asked kindly."Er... i was just wondering if you had any jokes i could pull on my sister? You see, Mum says I'm not supposed to be here.. so er... I need something quick-" George laughed, probably for the first time in a week. This little boy had reminded him of Ron, and how scared he was when he was little if he found out that Fred and George were about to pull a trick on him. "Sure, right this way, little fella." George pulled the boy to one of his favorite sections, specifically designed to aggravate your siblings. After showing him a variety of different knick knacks and joke tricks, the boy checked out. "That'll be 11 sickles, please," George said, smiling. "Oh...er... darn, I've only got 7... I'll have to put something back." George could see the boy's dissappointment, and for some reason, it had pained him. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's on me. Now you'd better run along before you're mum finds out that you aren't really in the bookstore." George winked, and the boy beamed. "Wow, thanks mister!" He hurriedly ran out of the store, the bells ringing as he opened the doors, and paused to wave at George through the window. George smiled, then sighed as he watched the boy hurry down the street. He wished now, more than ever, that Fred was here, with him.

_ ((alright, thats the first chapter. yes i know, not that much, but i plan on having more details of both of the character's lives. this was sortof just a set up, you know? i hoped you enjoyed. This is my first fan fic :) please review.))_


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